Keynote Speakers & Invited Speakers

Prof. Dan Zhang

York University, Canada | Full Professor

Dr. Dan Zhang is a Kaneff Professor in Advanced
Robotics and Mechatronics, as well as the Chair of the
Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Lassonde
School of Engineering at York University. From July 1st
2004 to December 31 2015, Dr. Zhang was a Professor and
Canada Research Chair in Advanced Robotics and
Automation, was a founding Chair of the Department of
Automotive, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Engineering
with the Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science at
University of Ontario Institute of Technology. He
received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Laval
University, Canada, in June 2000.

Dr. Zhang’s contributions to and leadership within the
field of robotic and automation have been recognized
with several prestigious awards, within his own
university (Research Excellence Award both from
university level (2009) and faculty level (2008)), the
Province of Ontario (Early Researcher Award in 2010),
the professional societies (election to Fellow of the
ASME in 2016, the EIC in 2012 and the CSME in 2010), and
federal funding agencies (Canada Research Chair in
January 2009 and renewed in January 2014). Besides, he
was awarded the Inaugural Teaching Excellence by the
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science of UOIT in
2006 and the Best Professor Award by UOIT Engineering
Students' Society in2012.

Dr. Zhang is the editor-in-chief for International
Journal of Mechanisms and Robotic Systems, the
editor-in-chief for International Journal of Robotics
Applications and Technologies, Associate editor for the
International Journal of Robotics and Automation (ACTA
publisher) and guest editors for other 4 international
journals. Dr. Zhang served as a member of Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
(NSERC) Grant Selection Committee.

Dr. Zhang was director of Board of Directors at Durham
Region Manufacturing Association, Canada, and director
of Board of Directors of Professional Engineers Ontario,
Lake Ontario Chapter, Canada. Dr. Zhang is a registered
Professional Engineer of Canada, a Fellow of the
Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), a Fellow of
(American Society of Mechanical Engineers) ASME, and a
Fellow of (Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering)
CSME, a Senior Member of Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and a Senior Member of
SME.

Prof. Saïd Hanafi

University of Valenciennes, France | Full Professor

Saïd Hanafi holds a Full Professor position in Computing
Science at Institute of Techniques and Sciences,
University of Valenciennes and is currently in charge of
the computer science department of LAMIH CNRS UMR 8201. His research lies in the design of effective heuristic and meta¬heuristic algorithms
for solving large-scale combinatorial search problems. His is interested in theoretical as well as algorithmic modelling and application aspects of integer
programming and combinatorial optimization and has published over 50 articles on the topic. His current interests revolve around the integration of tools from
hybrid methods mixing exact and heuristics for solving hard problems.

Prof. Davide Marocco

University of Naples Federico II, Italy | Associate Professor

Davide Marocco is Associate Professor of Psychometrics
at the University of Naples Federico II. His research
activity is centred on the applications of Artificial
Intelligence and Cognitive Modelling in the field of
psychology. Specifically, he works in the field of
computational models for research and evaluation in
psychology with particular interest in the use of
innovative assessment methods, such as serious games for
negotiation, effective communication and conflict
resolution, and innovative methods of psychological
analysis. Previously, he was Professor in Cognitive
Robotics and Intelligent Systems at the University of
Plymouth, and researcher at the Institute of Cognitive
Sciences and Technologies, CNR, Rome. Davide is
coordinator of various European projects in the use of
technology in psychological intervention, the most
recent being the Erasmus+ ACCORD project which aims to
define a training tool that integrates theoretical and
practical aspects on the issues of conflict management
in multicultural education and school contexts.

Prof. Ian Walker

Clemson University, USA | IEEE Fellow, Full Professor

Professor Walker is a Fellow of the IEEE and a Senior
Member of the AIAA. He has served as Vice President for
Financial Activities for the IEEE Robotics and
Automation Society, and as Chair of the AIAA Technical
Committee on Space Automation and Robotics. He has also
served on the Editorial Boards of the IEEE Transactions
on Robotics, the IEEE Transactions on Robotics and
Automation, the International Journal of Robotics and
Automation, the IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine,
and the International Journal of Environmentally
Conscious Design and Manufacturing. His research has
been funded by DARPA, the National Science Foundation,
NASA, NASA/EPSCoR, NSF/EPSCoR, the Office of Naval
Research, the U.S. Department of Energy, South Carolina
Commission of Higher Education, Sandia National
Laboratories, and Westinghouse Hanford Company.

Professor Walker's research centers on robotics,
particularly novel manipulators and manipulation. His
group is conducting basic research in the construction,
modeling, and application of biologically-inspired
"trunk, tentacle, and worm" robots. Their work is
strongly motivated by the dexterous appendages found in
cephalopods, particularly the arms and suckers of
octopus, and the arms and tentacles of squid. The
ongoing investigation of these animals reveals
interesting functional aspects of their structure and
behavior. The arrangement and dynamic operation of
muscles and connective tissue observed in the arms of a
variety of octopus species motivate the underlying
design approach for our soft manipulators. These
artificial manipulators feature biomimetic actuators,
including artificial muscles based on pneumatic
(McKibben) muscles. They feature a “clean” continuous
backbone design, redundant degrees of freedom, and
exhibit significant compliance that provides novel
operational capacities during environmental interaction
and object manipulation. The unusual compliance and
redundant degrees of freedom provide strong potential
for application to delicate tasks in cluttered and/or
unstructured environments. This work in turn leads to
novel approaches to motion planning and operator
interfaces for the robots. This work is currently funded
by DARPA under the DSO BIODYNOTICS program, by NASA, and
by NASA/EPSCoR Dr. Walker also conducts research in the
area of fault tolerance and reliability of robots. New
work focuses on the creation of animated environments.
This work in Architectural Robotics, a fast-emerging
area, exploits key aspects of engineering and
architecture in exploring how our environments of the
future could morph in real time. Applications being
investigated by Walker's group focus on assisted living
and aging in place.